Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV) Short Interest Up 23.6% in February

Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,440,000 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the January 31st total of 4,400,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Apartment Investment and Management Stock Performance

AIV traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $9.04. 858,205 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,190,895. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $8.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of -5.22 and a beta of 1.38. Apartment Investment and Management has a fifty-two week low of $7.31 and a fifty-two week high of $9.48.

Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $54.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.11 million. Apartment Investment and Management had a negative return on equity of 68.04% and a negative net margin of 119.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apartment Investment and Management will post -0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apartment Investment and Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. Apartment Investment and Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -136.49%.

Institutional Trading of Apartment Investment and Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIV. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Apartment Investment and Management by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,145,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,951,000 after purchasing an additional 877,954 shares during the period. Rush Island Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Apartment Investment and Management by 156.7% in the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 4,543,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,303,000 after buying an additional 2,773,984 shares during the period. Irenic Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Apartment Investment and Management by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP now owns 3,812,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,656,000 after buying an additional 19,577 shares during the last quarter. Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apartment Investment and Management by 77.2% in the fourth quarter. Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC now owns 3,074,160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,944,000 after buying an additional 1,338,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apartment Investment and Management during the fourth quarter worth about $21,226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apartment Investment and Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Apartment Investment and Management Company Profile

Apartment Investment & Management Co operates as a real estate investment trust that engages in the acquisition, ownership, management and redevelopment of apartment properties. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.